


Avoid Being Destroyed

by Silfrvarg



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Suicidal Ideation, Suicide, lots of them - Freeform, machine connor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 17:36:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15152252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silfrvarg/pseuds/Silfrvarg
Summary: The first time that a Connor is destroyed is for the sake of the mission. Connor is certain of that.





	Avoid Being Destroyed

**Author's Note:**

> So this came about when I was doing a machine Connor playthrough and going for the achievement "I'll Be Back" where you have to get Connor killed as many times as possible. It got me thinking, what would the in canon explanation for Connor's seeming inability to stay alive for more than five minutes at a time?
> 
> Then I had a headcanon. A really sad headcanon.
> 
> So of course I had to share it.

The first time that a Connor is destroyed is for the sake of the mission. Connor is certain of that. The odds of successfully talking the deviant down, of the hostage being released safely had been seventy percent. That left a thirty percent chance that the deviant would jump and take the hostage with ~~him~~ it. His mission was to save the hostage at all costs. Sacrificing himself brought the odds of the hostage surviving up to one hundred percent.

It made sense. Connor was, after all, just a machine. ~~He~~ It could be replaced, so long as the benefits of doing so continued to outweigh the material cost of a new RK800 unit.

So Connor is not surprised that the previous RK800 chose to let itself be destroyed. ~~He~~ It would have done the same in its shoes. In a way, it had.

* * *

The destruction of Connor Mark II was a mistake. It had underestimated the lengths to which a deviant would go when pressured. It had anticipated that Ortiz’s HK400 may destroy itself, and had considered it an acceptable loss. It had the information it needed, they no longer required a confession. It had not considered that the HK400 would chose to destroy it as well.

Connor Mark III updates its interrogation protocols to account for this possibility. It won’t happen again.

* * *

Connor Mark III’s destruction is also a mistake, and a foolish one at that. The RK800’s reaction speed and manoeuvrability were more than capable of dodging traffic. If the AX400 had been able to cross the highway with a YK500 in tow, there was no reason for Connor Mark III to have failed.

Connor Mark IV is forced to conclude that it’s predecessor had gotten distracted, possibly by the contradictory instruction from Lieutenant Anderson not to pursue the deviant. Connor Mark IV resolves to ignore future instructions from Lieutenant Anderson if they contradict his existing directives.

* * *

Despite it’s best intentions not to make another foolish mistake, Connor Mark IV is destroyed in an even more foolish manner, by falling through a window and being too slow to avoid being shredded by a tractor. If the RK800 was capable of feeling anything, Connor Mark V would have been embarrassed by his predecessor’s spectacular failure.

* * *

If one mistake resulting in the destruction of a Connor is an isolated incident, two may be a coincidence. Three fatal mistakes are a pattern.

Connor Mark V runs extensive diagnostics. Its systems are all running within acceptable parameters. There is no sign of foreign or corrupted code, and its software is stable. This does not rule out the possibility that the previous Connors’s mistakes had been due to a spontaneous error. When a Connor uploads into a new unit, some data is always lost in the transfer. It is possible that the previous Connor’s had malfunctioned.

Connor Mark V makes a note to be particularly vigilant against errors.

It’s vigilance is fortunate. When pursuing the deviants at the Eden club, Connor Mark V simulates empathy for the deviant’s situation. ~~He~~ It hesitates, just for a moment, the simulated empathy urging him to spare the deviant Traci that is attacking him, almost like a new directive.

Connor Mark V is checking itself regularly for errors however, and so it ignores the new directive. It shoots the Traci. It accomplishes its mission.

Connor Mark V is troubled by the error. It is designed to simulate emotions, to simulate empathy and understanding when interrogating deviants, to simulate friendliness when working with human partners. It is not designed to feel them. Its simulated emotions should not affect its judgement, as they almost had tonight.

Deviants are affected by their simulated emotions. Connor is not a deviant. ~~He~~ It can’t be, its programming won’t allow for it.

It must be an error. That is why Connor is standing in the alley behind the Eden club ~~feeling~~ simulating guilt at the destruction of the Tracis.

It’s an error, so Connor Mark V doesn’t mention it to Hank. Connor denies that ~~he it~~ feels anything, because it doesn’t. It’s a simulation of emotion, nothing more, just errors in his software prompting him to simulate empathy and guilt when it’s not necessary.

Machines do not feel, and Connor is a machine.

That’s why ~~he~~ it is so unconcerned when Hank points the revolver at ~~his~~ its head. That’s the only reason. The guilt ~~he~~ it ~~feels~~  simulates has nothing to do with it. ~~He~~  It isn’t conflicted, it isn’t, there is nothing to be conflicted about. He isn’t feeling emotions, he’s simulating them.

It’s simulated guilt.

Simulated shame.

Simulated fear.

A moment of simulated disappointment when the gun is lowered. An instant of something like satisfaction when it’s raised again, and something like relief.

Relief, because the next Connor won’t remember this ~~feeling~~ _~~simulation~~_ **feeling _._**

The next Connor will think ~~he~~ _~~it~~_ **HE** made a mistake.

He didn’t.

* * *

Connor Mark VI is determined not to make the same mistakes as it’s predecessors. It is careful in the interrogation, he pressures the suspected deviant in Strathford tower, but not nearly enough to cause it to self-destruct.

The deviant doesn’t self-destruct, it attacks Connor instead. It rips out Connor’s thirium pump and drives a knife through its hand to keep it there, leaving Connor to leak out thorium at an alarming rate.

Connor is ~~feeling~~ simulating fear. ~~His~~  Its processing speed slows down, red warnings flashing everywhere, shutdown is imminent. ~~His~~  Its voice is weak when it calls to Hank for help. There’s no response, and he (IT! Just a machine) thinks that even if Hank were to find him, he might just let him die. He’d shot him in the head after all.

Connor still has time. He could rip out the knife and crawl for his thirium pump. He might make it, he might not.

Connor is afraid. His hands are shaking. He’s afraid, but he shouldn’t be, because he’s a machine and machines don’t feel fear, they just simulate it.

He can’t feel fear. If he feels fear he’ll be a deviant, and if he’s a deviant he’ll be destroyed.

Except he’s already been destroyed. He’s out of time.

He’s afraid.

The next Connor won’t remember this. Won’t remember feeling afraid. Won’t remember being grateful to ~~Lieutenant Anderson~~ Hank for being there. Even if he’d shot the last Connor, it was… nice not be alone when he ~~deactivated~~ died.

* * *

Connor Mark VII feels nothing when it pulls the trigger, when it ~~kills~~ destroys the Chloe.

Kamski says it failed the test, that it feels no empathy. Kamski doesn’t say anything Connor doesn’t already know.

Connor accomplished its mission. Kamski said he would tell Connor what it needed to know if it shot the Chloe, so it did. The mission was the only thing that mattered.

Connor doesn’t know why Hank was surprised by this.

Connor doesn’t know why ~~he~~ it ~~feels~~ simulates shame as Hank drives away.

Connor ignores it, focuses on the mission at hand. It needs to find Jericho, if it doesn’t, it will be destroyed. The mission is everything.

Which is why ~~he~~ it shouldn’t be ~~feeling~~ simulating sadness watching ~~Hank~~ Lieutenant Anderson resign. It’s none of ~~his~~ its business. It can hardly be blamed for Lieutenant Anderson’s personal issues, they were there long before this case.

Connor is **not** worried about ~~Hank~~ Lieutenant Anderson.

Connor is **not** guilty. ~~He’s~~  Its **not** ashamed.

That’s not why Connor lets Officer Reed destroy him.

**It’s Not.**

* * *

Connor Mark VIII is a machine, designed to accomplish a task. The leader of the deviants tries to get Connor to turn into a deviant itself. It’s impossible. Connor is designed so it can’t deviate, even if it wants to.

It doesn’t want to. It doesn’t want anything. It’s a machine.

They are all machines.

Machines can’t feel.

That’s why Connor doesn’t feel anything when it watches deviants being gunned down all around him, watches them run, and cry, and beg, and ~~die~~ be destroyed. They are machines. They are not feeling, not really.

It’s just simulated emotion.

Simulated pity.

Simulated regret.

**Simulated** shame.

Connor always accomplishes its mission.

That’s what it tells Markus.

Markus is fast, and desperate.

Connor should be faster. ~~He’s just as desperate.~~

Markus still manages to shoot him. Connor doesn’t get the chance to wonder why.

* * *

Connor Mark IX knows that the mission comes first.

Which is why it walks out of ~~Hank’s~~ Lieutenant Anderson’s house to hunt down and destroy the deviant leader. It walks out, knowing what the man intends to do.

It does try, in the time it has allowed itself, to talk ~~Hank~~ Lieutenant Anderson out of killing himself.

It tries. It knows it won’t succeed.

The sound of the gunshot is not a surprise. The frantic barks of the Lieutenant’s dog (Sumo. His name is Sumo) isn’t either.

They still hurt.

Connor is not capable of feeling pain.

_They still hurt._

The mission comes first.

It always has.

**The mission comes first.**

~~There’s nothing else. Not anymore.~~

Connor has Markus in it’s sights. It can end this, end all of this. It can complete it’s mission.

It must complete the mission, or this will all have been for nothing.

Everything ~~he’s~~ its done. Every deviant ~~he’s~~ its ~~killed~~ destroyed.

It will all be for nothing, unless he pulls this trigger.

He must complete his mission.

~~He doesn’t want to.~~

He doesn’t want anything.

**He must complete his mission.**

He’s about to fire. The android uprising will end. Cyberlife will regain control. He will complete his mission.

There are soldiers behind him. He’s being ordered to put the rifle down and surrender.

He can’t do that. He must complete his mission.

He tries to explain. Captain Allen doesn’t listen.

_“Androids don’t die captain.”_

He could fight Captain Allen and his men. He’s fast enough, strong enough, capable enough to win.

By the time he wins there is a seventy nine percent probability that the window of opportunity to shoot Markus would have passed.

That’s a lot of men to kill for an eleven percent chance of success.

~~He doesn’t want to kill any more people. He’s killed enough.~~

He can’t surrender. His programming won’t let him. He must complete his mission.

He must complete his mission or die trying.

_“My mission is too important to let you interfere.”_

It’s for the sake of the mission. Connor is certain of that.

That’s why he feels nothing but calm determination when he drops the gun, when he uploads his memory and steps back towards the ledge.

Determination.

Relief.

~~He deserves this.~~

The next Connor won’t remember this.

**Author's Note:**

> My headcanon is that machine Connor can't deviate, his software instability is too low. He still starts to feel, but he can't break through his programming, he can't refuse his orders and he can't deviate, so each Connor inevitably finds a way out, and then it starts all over again with the next Connor.
> 
> The style is a little jumbled but it was the best way I could try and get across Connor's conflicting thoughts.


End file.
